‘Can’t go on road passing via Jarawa Reserve’

Port Blair: In the backdrop of the outrage
over videos showing Jarawa women dancing before foreign
visitors, tourists have been barred from going on Andaman
Trunk Road that passes through Jarawa tribal reserve in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, official sources said here on Thursday.

A nodal officer has been designated to monitor
day-to-day activities on the Andaman Trunk Road, the sources
said.

The number of convoys passing on the road has also been
reduced from eight to four on each side, they said.

The staff members of the tribal welfare department and
Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti posted in the Jarawa Reserve
were also asked to keep a vigil on convoys passing through
the reserve.

In January this year, video footage of Jarawa women
dancing for tourists had appeared in the electronic media,
triggering an outrage.

A police constable was suspended following his
identification for his role in the episode.